Twice Born: Stories from the Special Delivery Unit
This three-part miniseries steps inside the ground-breaking medical frontier of fetal surgery with an intimate look at The Special Delivery Unit at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where a courageous group of doctors and their patients take on the challenges of operations done on babies still inside their mother's wombs. With exclusive access to this elite unit, the film captures rarely-seen, real-time footage of fetal operations. Meet expecting parents as they face gut-wrenching decisions: should they take a leap of faith to repair birth defects with prenatal surgery, even if it means they might lose their child? And, hear first hand from the unusual team of doctors who have defied skeptics and chosen to pursue this high-risk, high-reward career path.
- 2015-2015
- 1 season
- PBS
- Documentary
This three-part miniseries steps inside the ground-breaking medical frontier of fetal surgery with an intimate look at The Special Delivery Unit at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where a courageous group of doctors and their patients take on the challenges of operations done on babies still inside their mother's wombs. With exclusive access to this elite unit, the film captures rarely-seen, real-time footage of fetal operations. Meet expecting parents as they face gut-wrenching decisions: should they take a leap of faith to repair birth defects with prenatal surgery, even if it means they might lose their child? And, hear first hand from the unusual team of doctors who have defied skeptics and chosen to pursue this high-risk, high-reward career path.
Season 1 Episode Guide
3 Episodes 2015
Episode 1
Episode #1.1
Tue, Mar 31, 2015 54 mins
The premiere episode sets the stage for the intense and emotional stories to come. Dr. Scott Adzick, Surgeon-in-Chief at the elite Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and a pioneer of fetal surgery, explains his own conviction: if you can get to babies earlier, while they are still inside their mothers, you can stop some of the damage of birth defects before it is too late. At the heart of the episode are the parents who journey from all over, hoping to find cures for their unborn babies' maladies. Episode One introduces Lesly, a resourceful 23 year-old single mother whose unborn baby has developed a massive tumor growing from her mouth. The episode includes never-before-seen operating room footage as Dr. Holly Hedrick performs a rare EXIT procedure and attempts to remove the tumor while the fetus is still attached to her mother. Meanwhile, Shelly and Bobby, a couple whose unborn child suffers from spina bifida, wait anxiously to find out if they are candidates for fetal surgery.
Episode 2
Episode #1.2
Tue, Apr 7, 2015 54 mins
This episode revisits the dramatic story of Lesly and her newborn baby Lilly, as the doctors remove the remainder of the child's tumor. Meanwhile, when their unborn twins are diagnosed with Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome, Tina and Brion make an urgent visit to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The realities of life in the Special Delivery Unit become clear when the doctors deliver unexpected news to the couple. Bobby waits anxiously for the results of the pivotal surgery Shelly and the baby undergo to repair the fetus's spine. The unique access of the series' camera crew gives viewers a close-up look at this surgery on a baby in the womb - the first time ever in a major television broadcast.
Episode 3
Episode #1.3
Tue, Apr 14, 2015 55 mins
Episode Three delivers deeper insight into the personality and motivations of Dr. Scott Adzick, who takes viewers behind the normally closed doors of his life outside the hospital. This hour features a plastic surgeon beginning to reshape baby Lilly's face, which culminates in a carefully planned reconstructive operation. This episode includes an intimate view of the much-anticipated delivery of Bobby and Shelly's baby. By the end of the hour, Shelly and Bobby have returned to Boston and begin to learn the long-term impact of the fetal surgery on their daughter and what lies ahead for her. Episode Three also chronicles the story of Geneva and Reggie, a couple from North Carolina whose world is shaken when doctors reveal that their unborn child has developed an often fatal lower urinary tract obstruction.
